Society is becoming increasingly automated. Automation is found on industrial assembly lines, in consumer devices including cars, mobile devices, and automated teller machines (ATMs), to name a few, and also in commercial equipment and vehicles, military equipment, construction equipment and machinery, naval and water-based vessels/vehicles, and much more. However, in many instances automation has not risen to the level of autonomy because some tasks are so complex that defining variables and conditional statements for each possible contingency is impractical.
Further, when automated systems handle private information, security is often a high priority. However, some safety-critical systems are highly dependent upon safety in addition to security. For example, automated passenger vehicles, unmanned vehicles, vehicles with an autopilot, automated water, naval, land-based, tactical, or other similar vehicles and/or vessels, require unequivocal assurance that the systems being operated, directed, commanded, or controlled will perform exactly as they have been programmed or exactly as intended. When lives are at stake, the need for unequivocal assurance only increases.
While technology continues to improve at a rapid rate, automated systems are being optimized to increase their ability to perform difficult tasks. However, the ability to perform these difficult tasks often precedes quality control, integrity analysis, and adequate safety and risk assessments and assurances. Rather than impede the advancement of technology, structure or steps need to be implemented to ensure that both safety and security are unequivocally assured for automated devices, safety-critical systems, or systems capable of performing increasingly difficult tasks.